As an Asian-American female, I definitely consider Ivies and other top-tier universities to be harder for me to apply to, due to the above average academic expectations that college admission officers have. Is there any advice you guys have for making standard academically-oriented applications more unique?
Do you have all of the following:
- top end GPA in highly rigorous course selections
- top end test scores
- a high level extracurricular achievement or award, or some equivalent achievement
Donāt write about your immigrant roots.
Broaden your list to include schools w/o a disproportionately high percentage of asian-americans
@ucbalumnus No, I donāt consider myself to have all of the above that you listed. I have a relatively average unweighted GPA and SAT/ACT scores. I have many scholar awards received various academic institutions along with many trophies in martial arts. I hold various leadership positions in three clubs(president, vice-president, secretary) and founded one of them(affiliated with an organization I volunteer with). I volunteer extensively within two community organizations throughout my high school career, averaging around 400+ hours in total. Iām fluent in Chinese, with limited working proficiency in Japanese and French. I am also part of varsity track in school.
What are āaverage unweighted GPA and SAT/ACT scoresā? If you mean a 3.0 GPA with 500 on SAT sections and 21 on ACT sections, then applying to super-selective colleges makes no sense.
Did that martial arts trophies include something big, like winning a state championship or something like that? Did the academic awards include something impressive at the state or national level?
Thereās no way to ābe uniqueā other than by just being yourself. Everyone is different, and you should be different from the Asian-american female thatās down the block.
How you might ask? Well, thatās for you to find out and convey it to the admissions committee.
ECās are one way to demonstrate āuniquenessā but I think the best way to try to be unique is through your personality (which you show in your essays)
-No piano, violin, or anything that has strings
-No tennis
-No chess or any other competitive Asian-y activity
-No Kumon (at least half of the Asians Iāve seen on this forum have worked at Kumon before.)
-No writing about immigration like one of the previous posters said
-Make sure that any of your science/math awards are insane or else they are worthless in the eyes of admissions
-Donāt overemphasize your interests in STEM
-Adcoms expect your math SAT subscore to be higher than reading, so try to perfect both or make sure they are about the same
It really sucks that we Asians have to sacrifice doing what we truly like, but unfortunately itās the only way to have a decent shot at top-tier universities.
3.7 GPA, 1910/30
I consider them average.
AP Scholar with Distinction, and others, but nothing fancy
Won at the regional level, thereās no higher level tournaments.
Internship with a criminal law firm this summer
Is that really the case, though? When you get the Asian students alone, Iāve found that they hate their violins, their tennis lessons and maybe even their studies. And they really hate it when you beat them at chess.
And, we wonāt talk about their parents.
I havenāt done anything that focused on STEM and I donāt have a tiger mom. Actually I havenāt lived with my mother or parent since eighth grade. I live with my godparents who are Caucasian and therefore not pressured into doing standard āAsianā things such as Kumon, chess, tennis, or classical music instruments. I donāt think that I would write about immigration in my essay, but instead how I would reconcile my traditional Chinese heritage(moved to the U.S. when I was seven) and how I have been raised after the age of seven in an individualist American society.
You donāt need to win high level awards, you absolutely can write about your roots, heritage or traditions. As for the rest of this thread, ignore it. Be the sort who doesnāt fall for someone elseās assumptions.
Eg, if you want STEM and donāt talk about it, you miss a chance to express your interests and show your accomplishments outside class. If you skip music, you wonāt be showing them your involvement in orchestra or other good things.Youāll be shrinking your picture because- what?- some poster told you to? Btw, leadership is not just a few hs titles, itās in the way you seek out more, including outside the hs four walls.
However, how your gpa is viewed depends on what you got less than āAā in. And your grades and extras related to your possible major. And considering the huge competition, many students will have higher scores.
Just go to the ivy web sites and read what they have to say. Youāll learn more and what sort of advice to trust or not. You can learn what they really value,in any applicant.
I think your stats are low for Ivies. Did you want Ivies? I might even bold to say low for top 25.
Martial arts could be an Asian activity.
So what if martial arts are āAsian?ā
The essay idea could be good- but yourāre applying to college, so it has to be relevant to college and the admissions reviews.
Iām not aiming to get into all of the Ivies. Just one. My top choices are UPenn, NYU, and UC Berkeley.
I donāt know why you are asking about top colleges with a 1910. While it is a good and well above average score, it usually isnāt a score that people apply to the tippy top schools with unless you are hooked. Instate for UC then fine, apply widely to UCs. NYU doesnāt require top stats so that should be fine too.
You can be a URM too if you look at super āwhiteā schools and there are plenty of small uniās and LAC that are āup thereā but not quite brand name of Ivy.
Ivies and top tier schools are probably not in reach for you not because you are an Asian female but because your grades, test scores and ECs donāt warrant admission. Sure you can pick a dream school and try, but look at the Common Data Set for those schools first. You will note that as an unhooked applicant, you are not even in the top half of the applicant pool stat-wise. It has nothing to do with being Asian (my kids are, by the way, so Iām not unaware of the issue).
And the schools you are targeting are expensive - I assume you have no financial constraints?
xinje: the advice for you, Asian or not, is to apply to a broad list of colleges. Like others have pointed out in this thread, the super selective schools (i.e. >15% admit rate) are unrealistic for you. I fear your expectations arenāt in line with reality. In my state, you would be rejected at the top two public universities. You need to make an appt w/your guid counselor to craft a list of schools where previous kids of similar academic ability have targeted.
On the brighter side, the suite of colleges you should be targeting have rarely ever been accused of āanti-Asianā bias.
@xinjie The best advice is to apply to schools that asian students do not apply to in large numbers.
Funny how this is the orthodox recommendation on these forums with respect to Asian students, but white students are often discouraged from looking into schools which are majority non-white, even if they otherwise fit their stated preferences and constraints.
In any case, it is really the academic stats and the apparently non-superstar ECs that are on the low end at best for admitted students at the most selective colleges that are the issue. The OP needs to reset the application list to be more realistic for the qualifications. That includes starting with a safety where admission and affordability are assured.
1 Like
Maybe UC Berkeley because itās more holistic and doesnāt emphasize SAT scores. But you still have lowish GPA for Berkeley.